Hand-nutcracker



HAND NUTCRACKER APPLICATION F1LED-1uLY1o,1920.

1,391,751 PatentedSpt. 27, 1921.

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( 'HD l l ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY C. ATWOOD, OF ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA. HAND-NUTCRACKER.

1,391,751. Specification of Letters atent. Patented Sgpt. 27 1921 Application filed July 10, 1920. Serial No. 395,241.

To aZZ whom t may concern: portion 14 and the opposite side 15 at the Be it known that I, HARRY C. ATwooD, a front of the casing. The top portion is secitizen of the United States, and a resident cured to the side wall 12 through the medium of Ardmore, in the county of Carter and of socketed enlargements 16 formed at the State of Oklahoma, have invented certain upper edge of the latter, screws 17 passing 60 new and useful Improvements in Hand-Nutthrough apertured ears in the top wall and crackers, of which the following is a speciiengaging said sockets for this purpose. Of cation. course, the sockets are screw threaded, and

This invention has reference to improved similar sockets are formed horizontally in and simple nut crack-ers adapted primarily the base 11 of the open side, for securing the 65 to be operated by hand, for the purpose of side wall in position. through the medium cracking nuts of various sorts, and especially of screws or the like 18, thus detachably conpecans, for the purpose of obtaining the necting the parts so that they may be readily meats thereof substantially whole and withassembled or disassembled out mashing or destroying the same. The cracking jaws are designated at 19 70 he invention also comprehends a nut and are preferably of circular contour or cracker of the class described which is of cross section and provided with concavities novel and simple construction, and which is 20 at their opposed jaw faces `which are made provided with improved means whereby conical to receive the pointed ends of the pressure can be easily applied with sufficient nuts therein. These jaws are extended power to crack various kinds of small nuts toward each otl er 1n parallel relation to the quickly and without breaking the same up casing and at right angles to the shank porinto small parts, the device also being protions 21 which extend through a longitudi vided with means whereby it may be denal guide slot 22 in the side wall of the castachably mounted on the edge of a table or ing-opposed to the wall 12 and preferably 80 the like when used, and embodying jaws of formed by the angular plate 13 and the side novel formation guided in a casing and pro- 15, the edges of which may be spaced apart vided with rack and pinion operated means or formed with an intermediate web portion for moving the same to cracking and release 23 serving as a connection therebetween, ing positions. with the slots extending to the opposite ends Other and further objects of my invenof the casing. l tion will become readily apparent to persons The inner ends of the shank portions 21 skilled in the art from a consideration of the are provided with right angularly extending following description, when taken in conenlargements 24 slidably mounted in the junction with the accompanying drawings, guideway or casing and provided with a wherein: toothed rack bar 25 extending inwardly. Figure 1 is a plan view partly in section, The rack bar of one jaw is disposed at the ofmy improved hand nut. cracker, top of the casing and the rack bar of the Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device other jaw is disposed at the bottom of the shown in Fig. 1 and with one of the crackcasing, so that the feet thereof ppose each 95 ing jaws in section. other for engagement with a pinion or spur Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken lon the gear 26 which is rotatably mounted thereline 3-3 of Fig. 2, and between on a pintle or shaft 27 journaled 1g. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line transversely through the casing and held 4 4 of Fig. 3, the parts being enlarged with from displacement as by fixing the pinion 100 respect to Figs. 1 and 2. to the shaft within the casing.

As shown, the improved nut cracker com- Thus, it will appear that by rotating the prises a casing 10 'including a bottom or pinion opposite directions the jaws 19 may base portion 11 which is relatively thick and be moved toward and away from each other provided at one side with a wall 12 extendand for this purpose, an operating handle 105 ing vertically from the horizontal base 11. or the like 28 is provided, the same having a' e casing is of rectangular outline, and sleeve or hub 29 engaged on the flared porthus a chamber or guideway is formed by tion of the shaft or pintle 27 and held therethe base and side wall 12, in conjunction with on by a cotter pin or the like 30 in order v a right angular wall 1 3 forming the top that the lever may be readily detached. Thus 110 by gripping the handle 31 of the lever and and practical value that it will commend itmoving the same forwardly, the jaws may self to those skilled in the art. be brought together to clamp and crack the Having thus described my invention, what nut held therebetween, while reverse opera- I claim is tion of the lever will result in separation of 1. A hand nut cracker comprising a holthe jaws and releasing of the nut. low casing having spaced horizontally alined t is to be understood that the jaw extenslots at one side, coperating opposed resions will operate freely in the channel or cessed jaws having shank portions extendchamber formed within the casing and will ing transversely horizontally through the be properly guided into alinement. When slots of the casing and prolonged longitudithe jaws are separated, the nut, such as a nally therein, and means at the other side of pecan, is placed with its pointed ends engagthe casing and operatively engaged with said ing the concavities or sockets of the jaws, shank portions within the casing for simulwhen the lever is moved forward to bring taneously moving the jaws in opposite directhe jaws together, thus cracking the nut. tions for cracking or releasing a nu Opposite movement of the lever will sepa- 2. A nut cracker comprising a slotted recrate the jaws and release the nut, and by tangular casing, opposed jaws extending reason of the construction devised, the operparallel to the casing and having conical ation may be quickly carried out with the concavities therein, said jaws having shank minimum application of force or pressure, portions extending through the slot and prowithout injury to the operating parts. For vided with enlargements snugly guided in convenience, means to detachably support the channel formed in the casing, one'of 80 the device in position for use is provided, said enlargements having its top edge proand as shown, the base 11 is provided with a vided with a relatively flat extension formed depending web extension 32 forming part of into a rack bar and the bottom edge of the the U-shaped jaw member 33 which is proother enlargement having a corresponding vided with an internally4 threaded vertical extension, a shaft journaled through the 85 sleeve 34 receiving a thumb screw S5 for atcasing, a pinion fixedto the shaft within the taching the device to a table or other suitcasing and engaging said rack bars, a lever able place for operation and permitting it to detachably fixed to the shaft, and means for be removed and stored away when not in supporting the device in position. use. 3. A hand nut cracker comprising a cas- However, in practice, it may be stated ing including a base portion provided with that the end portions, which serve to limit a web extension having formed therewith a the reciprocation or outward movement of U-shaped jaw, a thumb screw operating the rack bars 25 by engagement with the through said jaw, said base portion having a enlargements 24, are preferably formed with side wall at one side and having the oppothe back part or side wall 12, thus preventsite side open, an angular wall forming a ing displacement of the rack bars. n `adtop portion and the opposite side detachably dition, it should be noted that the enlargesecured to said base portion and said side ments 24 of the rack bars are spaced from wall at the exposed edges rof the latter and the opposite walls with respect to the posiforming a channel within the casing having tions of the rack bars thereof, thus permitslots at one side open at the ends of the casting the jaws 19 to be moved toward each ing, jaws having concaved engaging faces other and to come in contact instead of beopposing each other and reduced shank poring stopped or limited in their movements tions extending at right angles therefrom by the enlargements 2a coming in contact through the slots for reciprocation therein 105 with the inner ends of said rack bars. By in opposite directions, said shank portion this means, the jaws are allowed suiicient having extensions arranged parallel to the movement to come sufficiently close together jaws and at right angles to the-'shank porto crack smallsized nuts, thus permitting tions for movement within the channel, and

the cracking jaws 19 to come in actual conva handle exteriorly of the casing and rota- 110 tact with each other and obviate the objectably carried thereby in operative connection to devices of this character as heretotion with the extensions for actuating the fore constructed. jaws in opposite directions upon oscillation In view of the foregoing, it is thought of the handle.

that the operation of the device will be readily understood and in view of the simplicity HARRY C. ATVVOOD. 

